Another round of recall petitions targeting members of Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party has collapsed, adding to a growing list of unsuccessful attempts to remove MLAs between elections.

Elections Alberta announced Friday that six additional recall petitions have failed, while one was withdrawn by the applicant before verification was completed.

Under Alberta’s Recall Act, organizers must collect signatures from at least 60 per cent of the voters who cast ballots in the most recent election in that riding to trigger a recall vote — a deliberately high threshold designed to ensure only campaigns with broad support proceed.

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None of the latest efforts came remotely close.

The petition targeting Premier Danielle Smith in Brooks–Medicine Hat required 12,070 signatures but gathered just 2,317.

Other petitions showed similar results:

• Peter Singh (Calgary-East): 556 signatures of 8,593 required
• Tanya Fir (Calgary-Peigan): 2,093 of 13,051 required
• Rebecca Schulz (Calgary-Shaw): 211 of 15,000 required
• Adriana LaGrange (Red Deer-North): 2,415 of 11,174 required
• Nate Glubish (Strathcona–Sherwood Park): 1,326 of 15,770 required

Meanwhile, the recall petition against Calgary-Beddington MLA Amanda Chapman was withdrawn before verification.

But these are only the latest failures.

Over the past several months, recall campaigns have been launched against roughly two dozen Alberta MLAs, the overwhelming majority targeting members of the governing UCP caucus. Yet not a single petition has successfully reached the threshold required to force a recall vote. 

Earlier petitions have also fizzled out. In February, seven recall petitions were declared unsuccessful after preliminary counts showed they lacked enough signatures to meet the legal threshold, while two others were withdrawn entirely. 

Still others failed earlier in the process. For example, recall petitions targeting MLAs in Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock and Lethbridge-East were declared invalid after paperwork was not submitted before the deadline.

Under the rules, Elections Alberta conducts a preliminary count of signatures once petitions are submitted. If early verification shows the campaign cannot mathematically reach the required threshold, the process stops immediately.

Applicants must now return all petition materials, destroy any copies of signature sheets and file financial reports detailing campaign contributions and expenses. Missing deadlines triggers an automatic $500 late filing fee.

The recall law was introduced to give voters a tool to remove elected officials between elections.